Roland SP-404 Mk2 (Part 1)

4 Likes

You beat me. Haha.

2 Likes

Haha we both on it :grin:

2 Likes

I have both, but what did I say that made you think that?

My Digitakt and MPC are already one beatmachine now, but personally I think with the advent of that skipback feature that the three together will be gloriously fun to use.

6 Likes

LOL, sorry for the total non sequitur! Not only did I mean to post in another thread, it was in an entirely different app :man_facepalming:

Thank god the week is almost over.

1 Like

That actually sounds pretty good to my ear. I loved the sound with the vinyl sim added. This is exactly what I had hoped for. I think playing instruments into the mk2 is going to be what it’s all about for me.

3 Likes

The guy can play a bit and that disguises a whole lot of the terrible guitar tone. Jesus, anybody got spare bandaids for my eardrums?
But yeah, nice to have some native amp modelling. And if you know how to play you can fool quite a few

1 Like

Could very well be true. I think if you are using guitar as a supplemental instrument and slather on a few effects I think it could work quite well.

I don’t know, the amp sims sound fine to my ears but I’ve never been a real amp kind of guy. I’ve played more guitar through amp sims on pedals than through real amps. And I usually really warble the guitar sound up with so many effects that it doesn’t really sound like a guitar anymore, so I don’t know what my opinion is worth in this case.
The manual is a bit confusing about how the input fx are used. Can somebody who has the unit already confirm if it’s possible to use 5 fx at the same time, when a dedicated input fx is used (meaning an fx that’s only available to used on the input)? Or to put it differently, can I use the amp sim as an input fx, reverb and delay on bus 1 and 2 in parallel, and then a compressor and vinyl sim on bus 3 and 4. The manual makes it a bit unclear and I fear that using an fx on the input will take up the slot for bus 1 or 2.

I see what you mean but I don’t think that’s a problem I’ve encountered so far. On my Reason 10 projects, I typically have parallel tracks for the wet effects for each sound so I end up with 40+ tracks for the most part. I can’t say it’s any easier than going through the programs and pads on in the MPC mixer so far, but to each their own.

A masterpiece for sure! I genuinely haven’t heard anything like it before.

Trying to figure out what he’s doing to produce these tracks is crazy. So much going on and the way he chops and places samples just breaks every norm in such engaging ways.

I can see why people jumped on the 303 and 404 after this. But this is all him. It’s like he’s channelling a dream. In the same way no one else with a MachineDrum makes music like Actress.

If there were no 303 I can imagine him producing the same album looping up an old 2 track and overdubbing concrete style!

3 Likes

Yeah. When it came out nobody was doing those kinds of crazy chops, so it was really like WTF?! I bought it on vinyl right when it came out, probably shouldn’t have sold that. I have been listening to it today, as I haven’t put it on in a while. Still sounds innovative, and soulful. I’m not one of those super hardcore Dilla worshippers, but I do agree it’s a really great album. It gels so well, and the thing is that it’s nothing like the later “lofi” movement people associate with this sampler. I think it sounds pretty crisp not blurry at all.

3 Likes

Exactly that! It sounds well produced and so fresh and original even today. Nothing like the elevator music with overused 404 FX you hear coming out of every 404 on YouTube.

This album is what working with samples and samplers is all about.

It’s inspired me to work in a similar way with house music.

3 Likes

This is well worth checking out on a bit of a Donuts tip.

3 Likes

The story behind Donuts is brilliant. He was literally in hospital on his deathbed when he made the album. I believe he used a crate of records, a 303, and an mpc…it was released 3 days before his death. Try listening to ‘Don’t Cry’ now without tearing up.

An absolute masterpiece…I also like how the Track 31 is actually the first track, and the Track 1 is the album outro…so it just loops continuously, like a donut, like a circle. The circle of life.

6 Likes

Yeah I read the interview with his mother. What a story. But it is tragic. Art often is. That isn’t to diminish the tragedy and pain. But Jesus, what a legacy to leave. Few of us will.

I like to say I’m an artist (I’m sure a lot of us do) but when faced with a ‘real’ artist, there is no comparison.

Think Emin, Actress, Pixies… I think there has to be some psychedelic outlook to the music to be a true artist. Otherwise it’s just music by number and what’s the point.

I was pretty baked last night listening to Donuts for the first time on headphones. Listening today on speakers, the production is definitely ‘basic’. But the vibe and creativity just caries it beyond looking at it just within the modern ‘production’ paradigm. Much like Actress’s Splazsh and Pixies Santa Rosa.

2 Likes

@henryo Do you mean ‘basic’ in terms of audio output fidelity (eq, compression, etc), or something else? Just curious.

Some questions/comments in this thread have been a bit confusing to me in general because it seems that some people don’t recognize that lo-fi/imprecise/imperfect can be a desired aesthetic choice, and the SP a tool that could excel in that scenario (vs it being an impractical tool for music that needs high precision/fidelity). It just seems like some folk are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole with their analysis/complaints about this sampler.

I’ve been in camp “shitty is pretty” for a couple of decades now (thanks @DimensionsTomorrow for re-sharing that rant. Amazing stuff!) and ordered the the SP specifically to have a tool to create less-than-perfect source material with. I have plenty of other gear that can do perfectly timed, hi-fidelity, etc, but nothing that forces me to commit (or delete and retry), and I’m kind of looking forward to that.

6 Likes

Yes, this is what I have been talking about. There are a lot of ways to use this sampler.

Hi @braken, I guess I mean instrument separation, compression, EQ and clarity.

That’s not to say shitty isn’t pretty, it definitely is in this case. It is just noticeable from an engineering standpoint.

Yep I totally get this and am probably guilty as charged! I do love the imprecise nature of creation with this tool (by some people), especially with the timing and chops. But I’d still prefer a better mix overall. That’s all.

Totally agree, after my Dilla indoctrination, I’m looking forward to loosening up and making stuff off grid with no preconceptions. This is what sampling was born to be.

1 Like

Ah, I figured that’s what you meant but was just curious. I’d say that album, even from a 2006 perspective, is a bit of a throwback to an era where cleanly engineered hip-hop wasn’t even a concept, and clarity was only as clear as your source material (which was mostly dusty $1 bin records from decades ago). As someone who grew up on DIY hardcore/punk/garage, 80/90’s hip-hop, the style speaks to me, but also as someone with access to todays tools and the knowledge of what they’re capable of, I can understand why it the style can be jarring from an engineering perspective.

Once you’re done with Dilla, jump into some Madlib, RasG, earlier Flying Lotus! There’s so much excellent sample/collage based music out there for inspiration

2 Likes